Martha's 'Apprentice' a Family Affair

The Donald may have George and Carolyn, but Martha will be flanked by family.

Martha Stewart's daughter, Alexis, and Charles Koppelman, chairman of the board of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia — one of the domestic diva's most trusted executives — will share the conference room with the doyen of domesticity when she axes contestants on her version of "The Apprentice" (search) this fall.

Alexis and Koppelman will work as Martha's "eyes and ears" during each week's task and will counsel her on which candidate should be sent home, in much the same manner as Trump's trusted advisers, Carolyn Kepcher and George Ross.

Koppelman is well known for his cigar-chomping habit and was said to have had an unlit stogie in his mouth most of the time the show was being filmed earlier this summer.

Alexis and her mom are extremely close, and she also serves as a consultant for MSLO.

"As the original 'Apprentice,' it's an honor to join my mother each week in the conference room," Alexis said in a statement.

"Having contributed to almost every aspect of her business empire, I know firsthand what it will take for one of these 16 candidates to win the competition, and I'm not afraid to call them out in the conference room."

Note that the batch of wannabe mini-Martha's will be fired in a conference room rather than the dreaded boardroom on Trump's edition of the series.

Insiders also point out that candidates will live in a stylishly decorated loft in Martha's West Side headquarters, as opposed to the Trump contestants, who live together in a suite in Trump Tower.

The loft, says a production source, is also different from the Trump suite in that it features a wraparound balcony with views of downtown Manhattan and 16 queen-sized beds (as opposed to Trump's dorm-style bedding).

The loft also features a, ahem, yoga room — similar to the facility that Stewart was visiting last month that resulted in justice officials slapping her with three extra weeks of home confinement for violating terms of her sentence.

Starting Sept. 21, 10 women and six men will compete to become Stewart's first "Apprentice."

Ranging in age from 22 to 42, this group of entrepreneurs will compete for 13 weeks on tasks related to Stewart's areas of expertise: publishing, apparel, entertainment and branding.

Alexis' first job was assisting her mother in her catering business but has since gone on to oversee the development of high-end hotels, gyms and yoga studios.